Home made burgers - help needed !!!

Question

When I make them they fall apart in the grill and are also quite tasteless - they just taste like mince. What gives them the yummy flavour you get when you buy them in the butchers? I'm not talking about those crappy processed burgers you get in supermarkets. Can you tell me how you make your burgers and what spices / herbs / seasoning you add please?

Answer 1

Go to American test kitchens web site and get a recipe for burgers they will have one that will knock your socks off.    

Answer 2

Many different recipes, however make sure you use GOOD quality mince. You could mix the mixture up with egg and/or breadcrumbs to help them remain patties and not disintegrate.

Add seasoning, maybe finely chopped onions or garlic or herbs or possibly a flavoring like worcester source or Tabasco. Think about the sort of flavors you like and how you could incorporate them into your burger mixture.  

Answer 3

I love our butcher's burgers.  They have one called Philly Steak and they put mozerella (I think) and green pepper and it is to die for!!!  My sister and brother-in-law use BBQ sauce and smoked flavoring and seasoning salt.  Both ways are really, really good.

Answer 4

First thing to stop them falling apart mix in an egg yoke this will bind the meat, when you are shaping them use a light dusting of plain flour,as for herbs and spices any at all, your own taste,you can always ask your butcher what he uses,and a little tip leave the meat and whatever spices and herbs you use, sit for anything from one hour to over night in the fridge in cling film if you are doing over night don't put in onion.

Enjoy

Answer 5

Help hold them together by mixing a beaten raw egg into the mince and breadcrumb mixture before you shape it into burgers. As for seasoning, nothing much can beat just a finely chopped onion and some cracked black pepper.

Answer 6

when I make homemade burgers, I add a little salt, pepper and thyme to the mince & onions and an egg yolk to help bind it together.

Answer 7

My recipe:

Use half Pork half beef (minced)

Add 2 table spoons of breadcrumbs.

Dice some Piquante peppers

Dice half a large onion

season to taste

Method, add all together and cook on grill or barbecue

If the mixture is to dry add some egg

Yum Yum

Let me know what you think

Answer 8

I have a rub that I use in my burgers.

My recipe for a delicious gourmet burger:

Chopped red onion, and fresh diced garlic, and worcestershire sauce, and my special rub (which I'll give you the ingredients for.

First, I take the ground beef, and mix in red onion and diced garlic. There is no set amount for this, it is just to taste. If you like onions and garlic, add more, if you don't then don't put as much, or none at all. While you're mixing this in, add a little worcestershire sauce.

After you've mixed it all in, separate the beef mixture into individual patties. Now that you have these ready, you can make your rub.

The rub consists of:

2 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper

3 tablespoons paprika

3 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons of cayenne

2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes

Mix all of the dry ingredients thoroughly.

After you get that done. Take your patties, and shake a little worcestershire sauce on each patty, then sprinkle the rub over them. Do this on both sides. Then barbeque, preferably over a charcoal grill, but over a gas grill is fine too.

My own personal recipe. Bon Appetite!

Answer 9

Worcestershire sauce

Answer 10

well, i found tis recipe on the net but i added small cubed carrots in it..

then i mixed the whole thing with teriyaki sauce and left it overnight..

then , the nxt day just mix it well again n start to fry....

4 c. finely chopped chicken

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 c. chopped celery

1/2 c. chopped onion

1/4 c. dried bread crumbs

1 to 2 oz. diced pimento

2 to 4 tbsp. oil

1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

Mix everything, except oil. Chill. Make patty and coat each patty with bread crumbs. Fry until golden brown

*when you fry.. try to use the small frying pans that ppl use to fry small eggs... u noe the one with holes in them...

k not exactly holes but yah... if u dun have them try to make them into circles first.. it will help..

good luck!

lol :)

Answer 11

add bovril

Answer 12

Hi,

I use good quality mince, and will often add some onion soup - sounds weird i know!  The dried soup packs you get in the supermarket, (you are meant to add water and boil) well in to the mix of mince I add some finely chopped onion and garlic, then some of the soup packet.  It gives the meat a nice flavour.  

You can also add basil, or cajun spices to them.  I usually dry fry mine - in a very good non stick frying pan.

I have never had them fall apart.  However I have heard some people put a wee bit of beaten egg and some breadcrumbs to help them stick together,.

Answer 13

When making burgers, use a beaten egg to bind them - this will help stop falling apart.

For flavour, add any or all of the following:

Onions, garlic, chopped chillies, oregano, peppers, sun dried tomatoes

yummy yum yum!

Answer 14

our burger taste yummy heres the recipe

500g mince

1 egg yolks

1 tsp paprika

2 tsp cummin powder

1 tblsp tomato puree

2 tblsp mustard paste

1tsp mixed herbs

a spash of Worcestershire sauce

1 whole beef oxo cube

1 blended onion

salt and pepper to taste

serves 4 but my dad gets two this also depends on how big you make them

we cook then in the oven with a lil bit of oil coated on them for a bout 30mins on 170

Answer 15

A good quality flour helps, but I always put in finely chopped onion. I have also done fresh coriander which is good with some chilli's. Don't forget to season that adds a lot of flavour too.

Answer 16

what ya need is good fatty mince, lean mince is no good for making burgers, add some italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, a chopped onion and chopped pepper, mix it up, i make four burgers per lb of mince, and theyre delicious!!! hope this helps, and dnt worry about the fattyness, jus give them a wee squeeze with the tongs when ya flip then and again when theyre cooked, and your flyin!!

oh and i do them in the grill, much better!!!!!

Answer 17

I like to add garlic when I make burgers. Incidentally, I agree with your assessment of the ready-made patties!

Answer 18

First off, if they're falling apart they are probably too dry. If you are buying very low fat meat that could be why. When I make burgers I add an egg into the meat and then mix in salt, pepper, garlic powder, and bbq sauce or a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. The egg is important because it helps keep the meat from falling apart. Don't worry, it wont taste like egg :) Good luck!

Answer 19

you can add raw egg to the meat to keep it together. as far as flavor, you need SPICES!! the more the merrier.

garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, fresh parsley, cilantro, tumeric, they also have prepared mixed spices with assorted flavoring.

don't have to add all together, if you want just a bit of flavor, salt, pepper and some garlic, will do it. If you want it very flavorful, add whatever you like to make it an interesting burger.

Answer 20

Onions/ Herbs (from supermarkets just get the mixed herbs bottle)/ Sometimes i put the cheese inside the burger (although this might not be for everyone. i use mozzarella) Garlic that's about it. but don't pit loads in, just little sprinkles and dices of each.

Answer 21

add bread crumbs, cheese, and worcestershire sauce or some onion soup mix to your meat and mix it all together. form into patties.

Answer 22

Very simple...use good quality ground meat. Add an egg, onion powder, salt, pepper and steak sauce (preferably A1). Chill the formed burgers in the fridge for a minute or two and put immediately on the grill. Don't press them down with any utensils or you'll smoosh out all the juice. Happy Grilling!

Answer 23

use half minced beef and half minced pork, onion , an egg , bread crumbs and worcester sauce

yummy

Answer 24

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/food/recipe/...

There's loads of burger recipes on the sainsburys site

Answer 25

Here is the trick!

Get some mince !

Some spring onion !

Some other herbs you want !

Then this is the trick get some grated parmesain cheese and mix in with it all!

The parmesian cheese helps it stay togeher along the other thing to keep in mind it that you ned to make them very compact, so make sure you add more mince and keep squashing them down and also remeber that make them a bigger than what you want as the burger does shrink!

You can also try lamb mince too as a burger depending on your taste!

or you can mix the beef and lamb mince together !

Answer 26

BEEFBURGER

Makes 2 quarter pounders

INGREDIENTS

250g of lean minced beef*

Ground pepper to taste

1 tablespoon of sunflower oil

METHOD

Divide the mince into two halves. Squeeze each half into a ball and then flatten it out into a disc. Make them firm, so that they don’t fall apart. Make them chunky, as thin edges will cook too quickly. Season with the pepper.

Put the oil into a frying pan on a medium heat. Fry the burgers for about 5 minutes on each side.

ADDITIONS & ALTERNATIVES

Add some finely chopped onion. Add some herbs.

Use minced lamb, pork or turkey instead of minced beef. If you use minced lamb, add some finely chopped mint, dried mint or some mint sauce. If you use minced pork, add some finely chopped apple or some apple sauce. If you use minced turkey, add some cranberry sauce.

If you need to make the mince go further, add some grated carrot.

If the burgers won’t hold together, add some beaten egg. If you make the mixture too wet, add some breadcrumbs.

Cook the burgers under a preheated medium grill for about 5 minutes on each side instead of frying. If the mince is very lean, you might need to coat the burgers with a little oil.

TIPS

When squeezing the mince balls, pretend it's someone you don't like.

Chilling the burgers in the fridge helps them to hold together whilst cooking.

You can make the burgers using a burger press. This is a round mould, which you fill with the mince and then press it into uniformly sized burgers. However, hand made burgers have more ‘rustic charm’ and there’s no washing up.

* Use good quality lean and finely ground mince. The cheaper the mince, the higher the fat content and the more coarsely it is ground. Use chuck steak, which is reasonably cheap but doesn’t have too much fat, and either get the butcher to grind it, or invest in a meat grinder and do it yourself.  

Answer 27

fry some onion and garlic,get a chilli con carne mix (any supermarket)put them all in a bowl with 1 egg,give it a good mix,make into burgers,beats any burger place,delicious.if you like them hot add some fresh chilli,enjoy.

Answer 28

First make sure you dont use beef that has been frozen, or your burgers will fall apart. I add a packet of ranch dressingmix to my burgers sometime, it doen't make them taste like ranch,but just gives them a nice flavor